Works council draws UvA’s attention to ‘legally questionable and inappropriate position’ on demonstrations
According to the Executive Board, anyone present at a non-peaceful demonstration is partly responsible for it. The works council of the Faculty of Humanities at the UvA now distances itself from this view. “The CvB can be expected to report with legal accuracy.”
The problem is a sentence in the online text “handbook for a peaceful and safe campus”, which the UvA enclosed in a September 5 newsletter to all its employees. In it, the university states that anyone “who attends a non-peaceful demonstration is a part of it and co-responsible for it.” The Humanities Faculty’s Works Council (OR) is now speaking out against this, saying it is “legally questionable” and “inappropriate”.
The OR fears that the sentence could be interpreted as an attempt by the UvA to discourage a demonstration against the university’s own actions. Moreover, the statement would have no legal basis, the OR believes. In support, the council refers to a report by Amnesty International, which was prepared this autumn, even before the large pro-Palestine demonstrations took place at the UvA.
That report looks specifically at demonstrations at educational institutions. The human rights organisation argues that the fact that a single person or a group at a demonstration displays violent behaviour does not mean that the organisation and the other demonstrators can be held responsible for it.
Tips
In a response, the UvA states that the online handbook is not a legal text. Instead, “it is intended to make students and staff aware of their presence at demonstrations that are no longer peaceful,” according to a spokesperson of the university, “with some tips on how to act”.
She continues: “The protests in the spring have had a great impact on our university community. Some felt unsafe at times when it was no longer peaceful. The handbook should be seen in that light, This fits with our duty of care for a safe campus for everyone.”
